Ranking we don't want to lead

Ouachita Parish leads most of the state in the rate of sexually transmitted diseases. And the state is one of the highest ranking nationwide for the numbers of STD cases.

That's not a ranking we want to lead.

Yet, we also don't want to talk about the sometimes negative consequences of being sexually active.

It's time to quit hiding behind our fear of discussing the topic of sex with our children and arm them with good information. Yes, we'd like for every young man and woman to consider abstinence until marriage as a viable option.

But we know there are many societal and hormonal pressures on young people today that abstinence is rarely the first choice. Prevention of disease and an unwanted pregnancy should be part of any parent's "birds and bees" conversation, because even the most angelic offspring can get caught up in the heat of the moment and make a life-altering mistake.

Health care professionals here know they're dealing with a crisis. Unless parents, teachers, pastors and other influential adults quit ignoring the obvious and give young people information about safe sexual practices and testing for STDs, that crisis is not going to abate any time soon.

Most adults think diseases like syphilis and gonorrhea don't exist anymore with the tools of modern medicine. Antibiotics cure all, right?

But Louisiana has the highest gonorrhea rate and the highest rates of primary and secondary syphilis in the nation.

The state ranks third highest in its chlamydia rate, according to the Louisiana Office of Public Health STD/HIV Program's 2011 Annual Report.

And African-Americans, by far, are more likely to be infected.

In 2011, the syphilis rate in Louisiana was 9.9 per 100,000. The second highest rate in the nation was in Maryland, with 7.8 per 100,000. There were 447 syphilis cases diagnosed in Louisiana in 2011, a decrease of 18 percent from 2010, but of those, 84 percent were African-Americans.

Gonorrhea was more prevalent, with 202 cases per 100,000. Mississippi ranked second-highest at 195.9 per 100,000. The STD was more common among African-Americans with a rate nearly 17 times higher than whites.

Among the chlamydia cases in females, 78 percent of those infected were black. Among males, 83 percent were black. Statewide, 697.4 cases per 100,000 were reported, third behind Alaska and Mississippi.

Although April serves as a month to raise awareness concerning STDs, Dr. Shelley Jones, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Region 8 director, said STD-related activities supported by the Office of Public Health STD/HIV Program are available year-round.

Throughout the state, STD awareness materials and condoms are available at parish health units.

Jones also said there are several high-school based centers in Region 8, and STD testing and treatment is available at Grambling State University and the University of Louisiana at Monroe student health centers.

"It would be wise to practice safe sex because our rates are high," Jones said. "But in the event that someone feels he or she needs testing and treatment, those services are available at the parish health units."

With information about safe sex practices readily available, we should not lead the nation in infection. But until we acknowledge that even the youngest members of our society need to know how important these practices are to their health and well-being, we'll continue to be a leader in a ranking we don't even want to discuss.

The editorials in this column represent the opinions of The News-Star's editorial board, composed of President and Publisher David B. Petty, Executive Editor Kathy Spurlock and community representatives French Smith, Andrew Osakue and Georgiann Potts.

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Ranking we don't want to lead

Ouachita Parish leads most of the state in the rate of sexually transmitted diseases. And the state is one of the highest ranking nationwide for the numbers of STD cases.That's not a ranking we want